Nevada caucus: Capitalism rules, in speeches and merchandise

Reporting from Las Vegas — In Las Vegas, there’s always a way to make a quick buck. Craps. Keno. And this week, presidential campaigns.

As the Republican candidates descended on Sin City in advance of Saturday’s caucuses, Tommy Dastamanis was there waiting with a folding table and a trunk full of merchandise. The 28-year-old was laid off by a Florida resort a year ago. Unable to find work, he’s been trailing the campaigns since Iowa, selling buttons, bumper stickers and T-shirts – promoting the candidate of the moment.

Earlier this week, it was Mitt Romney at an evening rally. “Three for 10,” he shouted to supporters, shining a flashlight on a table full of buttons. One read: “Silly Democrat. Paychecks Are For Work.”

Dastamanis is, of course, a Democrat, a fact that he whispered to a reporter while counting a large roll of dollar bills.

“I don’t have any cash,” said one woman, having set her sights on a Romney sweatshirt.

“We do take checks,” Dastamanis said.

The biggest seller: a white button featuring Romney’s face. (“You can sign it easy,” Dastamanis explained.) The biggest dud: the Romney camouflage baseball cap. That seemed more like Ron Paul’s crowd. (“They support the hell out of that guy. They buy a lot of [stuff].”)

Dastamanis voted for Hillary Rodham Clinton four years ago and said he’s unhappy with President Obama. The Republican campaign, he said, has been its own kind of stimulus package.